Friday, March 29, 2024

Player of the Week: Mesut Ozil Is Finding A New Level At Arsenal

Arsenal reach the summit before the new year and it’s because of Mesut Ozil. He’s been the player of the season, not only in the Premier League, but outside of the obvious names, they’re few players in Europe playing better football than the German right now.

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It’s also become clear that it was never Alexis Sanchez that Arsenal relied upon, instead it’s the German midfielder that is the key to success. If he left the team through injury now it would be truly awful. He played a key role in the Manchester City win a couple of weeks ago, and he’s back again, dragging the team to where they want to be.

It’s a struggle to find new ways to praise the German wonder. He is currently playing the greatest football in his career – in an Arsenal shirt, how wonderful. Like everything to do with Mesut Ozil, it all starts with an assist. That magic left foot. It tears teams apart. It was only a corner, but it was still Ozil who created the chance. He whipped the ball in the box and Gabriel came crashing towards it. Quickly, I thought the Brazilian had his best game in Arsenal colours. He was solid all round and has pace to burn. We need to get him used to playing with Koscielny as quick as possible. That’s a terrific pair. Arsenal won’t have had a pairing like that since the glory days. It eliminates Mertesacker’s only weakness, which is pace.

The inevitable assist edged him nearer to the record, which he should smash, creating a new, more impressive one in the process, that probably only Mesut himself could match or break. He’s the finest creative player in the world. The Bergkamp links aren’t that far fetched. No, he’s not as good as the Dutchman, but he’s definitely the closest. After the opener it was Mesut’s playground, with the new master moving around the pitch with grace, turning and spinning, all with the vision that none could match. The perfect example was Giroud and Walcott fluffing their lines because they weren’t thinking as quickly as Ozil. The German was two steps ahead of the opposition, and then even one step ahead of his team mates. It must be frustrating being that good.

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He’s playing on a different level, and one that not many players ever reach. I reckon he can’t wait until Alexis returns. He’ll have someone to compete with and to compliment. The golden boy got his own reward for the second goal, first starting the attack, then finishing it with a delicate finish after some team play from Giroud. The Frenchman didn’t have a great game, but his hand in Ozil’s goal shows what he’s best at.

Not only did he play a hand in both goals against Bournemouth, but Ozil also produced some of his finest passes this season – finally highlighted by pundits alike. They won’t like it, but they’re finding it impossible to not praise him at the moment. Ozil’s critics must be dying inside, to see their lazy flop rip the Premier League to pieces. The pass of the match was the ball to Walcott, unseen by everybody and even commentators. Ozil couldn’t have been able to see Walcott clearly, blocked by several players, making the pass all the more incredible. He’s just that good.

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